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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. face — to confront
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. stand — to bear
  7. land — ground
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. face — part of the head
  11. shower — rain
  12. prune — to trim
  13. season — of the year
  14. net — after costs
  15. shower — to wash
  16. face — to point toward
  17. net — for catching
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. land — a country
  20. land — to come down
  21. pitch — completely
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. net — in sport
  24. prune — to trim

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com